Up to 10 spots across Coquitlam could be home to food carts this summer.
Photograph by: NOW , file
Up to 10 spots across Coquitlam could be home to food carts this summer.
Council unanimously approved issuing a request for information and expression of interest (RFEI) Monday, which represents a preliminary step in allowing vendors to submit applications to ply their trades on city property.
The majority of the locations are in the Town Centre area. The others are near Blue Mountain Park, Douglas College, and in Maillardville near the intersection of Brunette Avenue and Lougheed Highway.
"It is intended that the program will be up and running, hopefully, for the summertime this year," city solicitor Heather Bradfield said Monday.
City staff will weigh a handful of factors in reviewing the applications: the type of products vendors will sell, the equipment that will be used, and the times the vendors will be willing to operate.
The final locations will be determined by Bill Susak, the city's manager of engineering and public works. Demand, accessibility and public safety will be factored into the decisions around each potential location.
Once the city decides on the "best" vendors available, applicants will then be ranked accordingly. The highest-ranked applicants will be offered their preferred locations, while other applicants will be offered locations based on their rankings, and the locations remaining after higher-ranked applicants have been chosen.
Port Moody was the first Tri-Cities municipality to allow food carts, as part of a program that began last summer at Rocky Point Park. Recently, Port Moody council chopped the number of vendors allowed in the park to two from four, after established food sellers raised concerns.
